Emo music & other pleasant surprises

There’s nothing quite like discovering bands creating singular music, and finding that they provide something fresh and exciting. And seemingly, have the legs to make it for the long haul. Two new CDs were voyages of discovery for me, and a new sampler CD gave me a bird’s-eye view of where Emo music has taken us over the last couple of years.

Sinosikat? (Warner Music): You sit back and just let the CD wash over you, and artists like Erykah Badu, India Arie and Cassandra Wilson come to mind. The music resides in that region between soul and jazz, and all that falls under the category of Neo-Soul. Surprisingly, this is a local band, and the CD is the debut recording of Sinosikat? (Don’t forget the question mark!). With the slinky vocal stylings of Kat Agarrado leading the way, Sinosikat? is definitely a band to watch out for. There’s a neo-calypso number, some that harken back to the days of fusion jazz, and just a lot of Fun with a capital F thrown in. If you want your music different, yet well-defined, this is the CD to listen to.

Typecast — Every Moss and Cobweb (Warner Music): While this may be Typecast’s third album, this is the first I’ve listened to repeatedly, and been floored by. If you threw me against a wall, and asked me what new emerging band would be the most promising to make it regionally, and follow in the footsteps of Rivermaya, I’d blurt out Typecast. Steve Badiola’s strangled, anguished, tracks like Bright Eyes and Boston Drama; they’re radio-friendly yet possess an edge and integrity that remind me of early Cure, the Killers and Greenday. I’ve yet to see the band perform live, but the CD is getting very regular play in my car.

EMOtions ... it ends tonight (Universal Music): You put together a compilation that includes tracks from the All-American Rejects, Dashboard Confessional, Aqualung and Alex Parks’ version of Mad World, and you know you’ve got the best of what Emo has to offer. While others castigate the music as whiney and depressing, you can’t discount the sincerity and good music that also come out of the “movement.” And while older bands like Counting Crows and Wallflowers make their contributions to the CD, we also find tracks from lesser-known bands like Frou Frou (now lamentably disbanded) and the ubiquitous Snow Patrol. Just don’t expect the CD to put you in a sunny, cheerful mood!